The Big Day

Maybe you saw the movie, The Big Day, where crazy bird watchers raced around the world trying to see the most variety of birds on record in a year's time.  

I don't usually track the birds I see, but yesterday, I started a list.

It was crazy at the bird feeders, get this:  goldfinch, indigo bunting, orioles, cardinal, downy woodpecker, rose breasted grosbeak, common grackle, chickadee, hummingbird, house sparrow, chipping sparrow, yellow rumped warbler, nuthatch, robins, white throated sparrows, mourning doves.  The day before I had a scarlet Tananger.  

Lots of migration going on.  

Here are a few snaps of my visitors

Scarlet Tanager

Female Oriole

Gray Catbird, even with his 'whiskers'

Catbird in the jelly bowl

Catbird

Indigo Bunting

Oriole missing her tail feathers, yikes!

Robin, letting me know I was on his turf.

Rose Breasted Grosbeak

Rump of Yellow Rumped Warbler

Yellow Rumped Warbler

Late this afternoon, I saw this Orchard Oriole, first time ever for me!

Crazy fun "Big Day" but in didn't get much done yesterday!

Medical Stuff

A little over a year ago, I had a falling out with a local Dermatologist, the end result of which was that I needed to follow up with another doctor.  I found a very nice Dermatology Specialist in Eau Claire and was happy with my appointment with him.  He recommended a procedure to remove the remnant of a questionable mole which meant seeing an ENT surgeon.  So, not to make a short story long, but I was scheduled for a visit to Eau Claire to remove this mole.  When I arrived, I was pretty surprised to find myself being admitted to a pre-op room in the ambulatory surgery department.  This included the starting of an IV, & stripping down to a hospital gown.  

I usually ask plenty of questions ahead of time, but this elaborate prep caught me totally by surprise.  

Not only was I going to have the mole removed, but it was going to happen in the operating room, even though it was just a local shot of anesthetic.

I probably was the annoying patient as I questioned each and everything the admissions nurse had on her to do list.  I commented that I wish that they would fix my ankle while was was in the OR.  That comment led us into a chat about what was wrong with my ankle - chronic pain, no cartilage, all left over from ski accident at age 17.  She asked if I had seen the ankle specialist in Eau Claire and then wrote down his name for me.  

As it turns out, getting that name was worth the hassle (overkill?) of the mole removal.

Before

After

Stitches out

It all went fine and the pathology report came back as normal tissue, so it's all good.

And, I've already had a consultation with the ankle specialist and now I have a treatment plan.

Two concerts and one play

My friends, the Kramers, and I  had a busy May with two concerts in Eau Claire and one play in Rice Lake. 

The Chippewa Valley Jazz Orchestra concert was based on music by Jazz legend, Stan Kenton.  The crowd was small but the music was fantastic.  It was prom, graduation, and Mother's Day weekend, so I suppose people had other commitments, but I'm glad I didn't miss this great concert at The Historic State Theater in downtown Eau Claire.

The following weekend was the season finale concert of the Chippewa Valley Symphonic Orchestra.

The music chosen was the last written by the composers of note.

We so enjoy the conductor, Nabuyoshi Yasuda.  He was especially chatty this night as he shared the story behind the music & the composers.  His sense of humor is quite delightful.

The first half of the program was enjoyable, but the Strauss and Bartok music was my favorite.

The guest soprano is a woman we have heard before, she is on staff at UWEC, and she has a beautiful voice.  I also loved reading the translation of the Strauss words.

I think this might have been my favorite concert of the 2013-14 season.

+++++

We also attended the first play of the 2014-15 season at Northern Star Theater in Rice Lake.

The play was Barefoot in the Park.

I enjoyed it and the small cast did a great job.

I am so thankful for community theater and all the work that goes on to present such a professional performance for such a small ticket price.

Our next play at NSTC is Les Miserables, which I am very much looking forward to.

Baltimore Orioles

In the six spring-times I've lived here in Rice Lake, I've usually seen a few orioles, but this year, the Baltimore Orioles are here in good number.  Yesterday was cloudy and a little rainy, but I took a few photos anyway.  

Female Baltimore Oriole loving the grape jelly

Looking right at the camera lens

A male grosbeak also showed up

The male Baltimore Oriole is such a bright beauty

Some males are less orange, but all beautiful.

This little goldfinch looked like it was smelling the maple buds, I think he was really eating them.

It's pretty fun that I can see such a variety of birds right out my living room window.

Sick Days

Being retired changes everything.  When I was working, having a head cold was a bother, but rarely did I call in sick and spend the day at home.  Now, I'm retired and having a cold seems like reason enough to settle in for a day of TV, hot tea and napping.  Today, I cancelled my few appointments and spent the day relaxing.  I did take a couple of walks around the yard, and in between naps, got to see some nice birds at the feeder.

The daffys are a pretty border at the edge of my yard.

Female grosbeak at the feeder

The first oriole of the year, not a great photo, but isn't he a pretty boy.

These daffys are so bright, even on a cloudy day

These daffodils have convinced me that I should add more bulbs this fall, they really are a breath of fresh spring.

So, Spring is here, my cold is better and Life is Good.

Dedication

Recently, my aunt and uncle, Johanne & Thorvald Hansen, were recognized as part of a ground breaking ceremony at the Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa.  Their dedication to the excellence in education at Grand View is no secret.  Dad & Ev and Glenn & Kathy were able to attend the celebration in Des Moines and Ev brought me the program.

https://www.youtube.com/user/grandviewadmissions

There are a couple of YouTube videos about the new student center, I grabbed this screen shot of Nancy with Aunt Johanne as they were about to put their shovel into the ground.

Everyone said that the celebration ceremony and lunch after was a grand affair.

We are all very proud of Uncle Thorvald and Aunt Johanne for their support of education.

Weekend in Garner, Iowa

To celebrate Dad's 92nd birthday, we gathered at The Garner Inn located in the small Iowa town of Garner.  The motel is about one year old and offers very nice accommodations.  The breakfast room is used in the morning as travelers enjoy a free start to their day, and then sits empty and we made good use of it for visiting, snacking and a little happy hour.

Close friends, Jim and Janette Swenson, from Belmond, joined in for Saturday night.  Since Gus and Lois could not be there due to lots of family events in Luck, it was especially nice to have Jim and Janette there with us.

Laila flew into Mpls on Saturday afternoon.  

I stopped at QuikTrip on my way to the airport and got a laugh as this gull snagged a big bite of bun that was on the pavement.  I watched him as he worked very hard and finally managed to swallow the whole thing after he squawked loudly at anyone walking within 20 feet of 'his' lunch.

I drove to the cities & picked her up then we drove to Iowa for 3 nights of visiting.  Glenn and Kathy went to Iowa on Friday morning early and I'll write about their trip to Des Moines in another post.

Once Laila and I got checked into the motel on Saturday late afternoon, we all went to The Colony Inn, located in Ventura, IA to eat dinner.

I tried to take 'selfies' of the group at the table, they didn't turn out great, but
at least you can see we were all there.

We posed for a group shot back at the motel gathering room after dinner.

Janette & Jim Swenson, Wanda, Glenn & Kathy Johansen
Laila Johanse, Ev and Dad

Sunday morning, after sleeping in a bit, we all gathered again for a surprise breakfast.

While the motel offered free hot breakfast, we waited and after most of the guests were gone, Glenn and Kathy served hot æbleskiver.

Glenn had made the 'skivers at home, froze them and then he reheated in the motel microwave.

The homemade maple syrup was from the Vanasse syrup making efforts.

It's just coffee and juice, but she's two fisting it.
Kathy, Ev, Laila

Glenn had an æbleskiver with money in it?  Or did he?  Nope, just a set up.

Lots of visiting

Lots of eating.

 After breakfast, and once we were done cleaning up, Glenn and Dad got in some cribbage.

 I'm not sure who won or lost, but there was plenty of teasing.

Glenn, Wanda, Ev, Laila
Dad

Glenn, Kathy, Ev, Laila
Dad

 Glenn and Kathy left for home, the rest of us took some quiet time in our rooms,

the skies opened up and The Red Sled got a free carwash.

Sunday evening, we took up again in the gathering room and had a little happy hour.

Lots of chatting and having a nice visit.

Nice digs for us to relax and spend time together.

 Then, as Dad was telling us about something that had happened on their trip to Denmark years ago,

Laila thought she heard something that really, really, really hit her funny bone.

Laila started laughing so hard, she couldn't tell us what was funny.

The harder Laila laughed, the more we all laughed.

We all ended up with a good belly laugh over something very silly.

Life is Good!

Monday, Dad and Ev moved back to their apartment.

Laila and I ran a couple of errands while the folks napped.

We tried to go check on the big corn pile, but there was a road detour that kept us from getting there.

On the detour, we managed to see a little of the countryside and I snapped a few photos.

We drove through a little development of houses and a small herd of deer walked out for us to see.

We watched this turkey vulture hunting over a field.
Up close he's not very pretty, but he put on a show with his flying and wing span.

 Gus and Lois could not be in Iowa for the weekend.

Jack got confirmed and the little girls had dance recital.

Gus and Lois sent a bouquet of flowers to Dad for his birthday.

Dad said it was the only time in his life that he had ever gotten flowers.

Sweet.

 The birthday flowers were stunning.

Tuesday morning, Laila and I had to be on the road by 6am to be sure that she would arrive at the airport 2 hours before her flight time.  It poured most of the drive but we arrived in plenty of time.

It was fun visit, and we'll look forward to next year celebrating in Iowa again.